Tour the Winning Riverfront Home From ‘Renovation Resort Showdown’

Welcome to Renovation Resort Showdown, featuring the duo you never knew you needed: HGTV stars Bryan Baeumler (Renovation Island) and Scott McGillivray (Vacation House Rules). These two spent months prepping four rental properties — digging out and building foundations, adding mechanicals and insulation, roofing and drywalling. Then, they invited four contractor-and-designer pairs from across North America to turn the properties into irresistible resort homes. At the end of eight weeks, the team that created the best home won a game-changing $100,000 grand prize — and that team was Hollie and Graham Laird. Step inside their renovated home, and learn more about the thoughtful transformations that earned them a win.

As co-owners of Laird Kitchen & Bath in Ontario, Canada, father-daughter duo Graham and Hollie have plenty of experience combining their talents to create spectacular living spaces. Hollie grew up watching her father develop his skills as a contractor and creator — and when she herself became a designer and entrepreneur, she knew she wanted to be at his side. “She saw how hard I was working,” Graham recalled, “so she said, ‘He needs some help!’”

“Hollie is our firstborn,” he continued, “and I think Hollie is a lot like her dad.”

“Oh yeah, I carry a lot of his hard work [ethic],” Hollie agreed. “A lot of stubbornness!”

When it came to renovating their home, the Lairds butted heads — but they also led with their hearts. “Our design theme is ‘Heritage Homestead,’” Hollie explained. “The inspiration for our house is a rug my granny hooked. It’s wool my granny hand-dyed. The colors are beautiful and organic-looking, so you’ll see them featured throughout the whole house. She was the most artistic, creative person I have ever known, and I want to honor her memory.” Outside the home, subtle touches create allure: Textural vertical siding in a neutral ecru tone contrasts gently with deeper wooden shingles installed horizontally above the garage. Gable brackets add additional character to the darker roof.

Both Hollie and Graham were new to hardscaping and landscaping, but they were determined to put their best feet forward. “The front porch is the first thing guests will see,” Hollie noted, “so I’m going to add a seating area with plenty of local greenery filling in the front.” Graham built and stained a screen that adds warmth to the sitting area on the front porch and a bit of privacy for vacationers looking to relax in semi-seclusion. Hollie, in turn, extended that organic feel with cushioned wicker chairs and textural grasses that add height and movement to the bed of flowers and foliage at the edge of the lawn.

Hollie envisioned visitors entering their home and feeling like they were returning to a well-known, favorite place. She chose leathered tile in a classic herringbone pattern both to evoke that timeless feel and to make the high-traffic space durable. Graham demolished half of the wall on one side of the front door to create a stop-and-drop space with a bench and storage. Hollie then added a hint of drama by brushing rich brown paint across the installation and the wall. A framed piece at eye level opposite the door (just out of this frame) makes the Lairds’ inspiration for their home the first thing guests see: It’s a reproduction of Hollie’s granny’s rug.

“Kitchen” is right there in Graham and Hollie’s company name, and they knew the judges would be interested in what they cooked up in that space, so they invested just over $40,000 — nearly a third of their $150,000 budget for the whole house. The sleek space features sparkling quartz countertops, an island with rounded edges and flawlessly installed cabinetry. Beneath a custom range hood with oil-rubbed detailing, Hollie designed a ledge for the quartz backsplash — a functional surface that provides just enough room for a few essential tools (and delivers color-blocked-looking floating shelves in the same space couldn’t match). “I think Scott and Brian are looking at us to do something impressive,” Graham noted.

Like each of the functional spaces Hollie designed in this home, the beverage nook beyond the dining room banquette is more than a place to grab a cup of joe. She painted the open shelving and lower cabinet with the same rich brown color she chose for the stop-and-drop space beside the front door, then embellished those shelves with functional stoneware, glasses and quirky tchotchkes that give the property a visual backstory. The books, bottles and artwork she arranged here are available for pennies on the dollar at thrift stores and yard sales — and the texture they add to the space is priceless.

When it came time to design the house’s front room, Hollie and Graham were in the mood to take things to the next level. “I think we should turn it up a notch,” Hollie said. “I want to make that front room a den where you can curl up, read a book and feel like [you’re getting] a warm hug.” She chose to color-drench the room in a contemplative blue (pulled from her granny’s hooked rug) — a hue that balanced both the warm accessories on the built-in bookshelves and the exposed beam Graham installed to highlight the dramatic ceiling. To tuck in one more opportunity for a head in a bed, the duo worked a deep blue sleeper sofa into the space.

Tasked by the judges with creating a wall-spanning feature for their front room, Hollie and Graham doubled down on their built-in shelving and used custom carpentry to turn the space into a full-fledged office and library. Graham also upholstered the window seat beside the window and added paneling to the bench’s exterior to match the molding he installed at the room’s baseboards and around that window. Though the study gobbled up time, Graham’s heroic efforts to complete the project earned him even more of Brian and Scott’s respect. “Overall, I think people are going to walk in and really like your property,” Scott told him.

Hollie approached the primary bedroom with the aim of creating a private oasis, while Graham recognized an opportunity to demonstrate the depth of his carpentry skills. The synthesis of those goals?

This one-of-a-kind headboard and feature wall with a rich stain, curvaceous integrated nightstands and wall-mounted reading lights. Hollie layered its upper ledge with a mixed trio of neutral framed artworks, then softened the space with a plush area rug, a lozenge-shaped storage ottoman and a woven pendant.

Hollie’s layered design in the en suite borrows shiplap’s visual texture without tipping the space into cutesy-country territory. She built on the subtle geometry by enveloping the shower in hand-glazed, moss-green subway tiles in a horizontal stack, then topping the pony wall with smoked glass. Wall-mounted globe lights on either side of a rounded vanity mirror add a hint of midcentury edge. The crisp black vanity contrasts with the room’s softer neutrals. “Using organic colors like greens and browns [to bring] the outside in is a bit of a risk,” she admitted. “I could easily paint everything a bold color and make it a punchy, challenge-winning moment [at] every single turn, but that’s not my vibe.”

In designing the great room, Hollie wanted to celebrate the soaring ceiling and infuse the area with comfort. “Even though this is a big, wide open space, I think we want to make it feel intimate [and] cozy,” she said. “This space is begging for a fireplace, so we’ll make it the focal point with stonework that adds a dramatic and natural look.” After balancing the room with symmetrical bookcases full of curios, she filled it with all the seating a group could need. A moss velvet sofa holds court beneath the window, and a longer, putty-colored sofa faces the fabulous stone fireplace.

Ample seating makes a gathering space like this one functional, but its details are what make it sing. In lieu of a new coffee table, Hollie anchored the room with a well-weathered vintage chest that provides storage and can accommodate vacationers inspired to put their feet up. She then perched a record player on an end table between the sofas and created a one-of-a-kind gallery wall with vinyl LPs. But where, you might be wondering, is the home’s television? We’re so glad you asked.

Scott and Brian challenged teams to hang sizable televisions in their great rooms and to make those appliances invisible when they weren’t in use. Hollie and Graham created a four-paneled, bifold “canvas” that swings out on vertical piano hinges to reveal the television behind it. Mounted above the faux-stone hearth Graham installed to mimic the look of a heavier and much more expensive build, this vignette is all about modern know-how in the service of traditional atmosphere.

Challenged to transform an unloved dresser into their main-floor bathroom vanity, Hollie and Graham knew they had to go the extra mile. Graham sanded the timeworn piece within an inch of its life to reveal the wood’s original beauty and repurposed the original rounded top as a wooden backsplash between the new quartz counter and the serene green shiplap he installed behind it. Smaller pieces of the dresser found new life as floating shelves. New chrome knobs coordinate with the rehabbed vanity’s faucet and the mirror and sconces above it. Traditional green wallpaper for the upper third of the room echoes the shiplap and adds a touch of femininity.

It’s no mean feat to stick the landing between old-school vacation-destination charm and contemporary comfort, but Graham and Hollie welcomed the challenge. They paneled just enough of their ground-floor rec room to cultivate that classic cabin vibe, then chose a smoky sage paint to dissolve the boundary between the rear wall and the walk-out patio. A properly massive blue sectional defines the seating area, and a pair of oars beside a landscape painting on the rear wall continues the celebration of sporting life that carries through the property.

Adjacent to the rec room, you’ve got the space’s social-media moment (a pitch-perfect re-creation of a “dogs playing poker” painting mounted on the wall behind it). Out of the frame, in the corner beside wall-mounted games, you’ve got a Murphy bed that folds down to accommodate yet another couple of guests.

To the right of the stairs, a spectacular second kitchen with atmospheric under-shelf lighting serves a long eat-in peninsula with leggy barstool seating.

Back upstairs, Hollie was ready to splash out on a bolder color palette for the second bedroom, saying, “We’ve had some nice, neutral tones throughout [the home], but [let’s] make this a bit more special." She pulled a deep blue color from her granny’s rug and carried it all the way around the room. Molding on the wall behind the headboards harmonizes with a subtle grid pattern in the window’s Roman shade and plaid throws at the foot of each bed.

Intent on creating a bunk room that could comfortably accommodate adults, Hollie tested and retested the dimensions of the competition’s biggest build until they were exactly right. Carrying the bunks’ lavender tone across the walls and ceiling created a cocooning effect that beckons guests of all ages. Wall-mounted sconces and an ultra-sturdy ladder make this sleeping spot ultra-accessible and functional.

Hollie and Graham made the most of the home’s priceless river view, then added activity areas that would tempt guests outside all year long. “One last chance for us to bring the indoors out,” Hollie noted. Pulling out all the stops to create dedicated zones for every sort of vacationer, they went for broke with a grill, an outdoor dining room and a lounging area on the upper deck. Down below on the patio, they deployed generously upholstered outdoor seating to create a shaded and party-ready sitting area, then created an intimate yoga zone in the nook beneath the stairs.

The Lairds aren’t the first team to deploy a sauna in a competition, but they might well have contributed the most showstopping version in HGTV history. This traditional, barrel-shaped beauty matches both the home’s deck and the cold plunge they installed beside it to round out the property’s personal wellness offerings. Its rear wall is a convex, panoramic window that frames the riverside landscape. These additions are far simpler to maintain than a hot tub in the same space would be. Even better, “[with] the sauna, the cold plunge and the fire pit, that gives you the hot-cold-rest thermal circuit, which is super popular in these vacation rental properties,” Scott said with approval. (He couldn’t resist trying the cold plunge himself.)

A sunken fire pit anchors the Adirondack-bordered gravel zone in the middle of the lawn, offering the perfect place to gather for stargazing and bucolic river views.

Less was unquestionably more on the upper deck’s dining area, where a sturdy teak table and chairs with classic lines pair with the loungers beyond them and will echo the foliage beyond the property line as the seasons change. Opting for a barely here iron-and-glass rail that provides safety without spoiling that magnificent view, Hollie and Graham provided future vacationers with handsome, high-quality necessities — then got out of the way.

Open to the river but secluded on three sides, this serene capsule features everything a guest would need to cultivate calm on their vacation. A hanging chair in the corner softens the feel of the stone wall and pavers, and a bar cart Graham deconstructed into a towel caddy and a personal roller adds functionality.

Strictly speaking, the pergola the Lairds reimagined as a nature lover's destination is a shared space for all guests, not just the ones staying at the property they renovated. That said, it demonstrates how wonderfully Graham and Hollie work as a team: He constructed each of its birdhouses, and her designs took flight from that foundation.